The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-12-30
"a PR:0S;PEROUS. YEAR
FOR WHOLESALE MERCHANTS

FOE WHOLESALE MERCHANTS
And Jobbers ia All branches OF business
In Wheeling was 1ss7-Ipcreaso in tho
Volume OF Businsss, New Territory
s7 Opened and Good Collections.
It is increasingly evident Rs the year
draws closer to its end and business men
begin to look back and .take ntock, }" that
Wheeling has entered on new lease Of
life 40 a commercial centre. Her jobbers
and wholesale merchants acom to lead the
van in tho now forward movement to that
commanding eninencs as o business PORT
to which tho ci!y'a geographical location,
facilities for transportation and all sorts Of
equipment for the battle for commercial
supremacy, entities Wheeling. From
every point OF view tho rule Of ''theaurvi.
val Of tho iltteul" guarantees tho commu.
nifty not only long life, but enhanced pros
perity each year. Az IN old trading con.
tire, Wheeling haa tho advantage Of com.
merclal relations with the surrounding
towns which were formed before many
more pretontious cities were born, and to
maintain thcae relations, with increasing
truth 40 the country grows up, requires
only that she should not allow competing
communities to ontstrip her in the race
for trade. Ofanyauch dire calamity there
10 evidently no reason to fear. l}5I
TEADR IN 1887. 4
Interviews with tho jobbers in all de-.
partments OF trade indicated that Wheel.
ing enjoyed more prosperous year In
1887, In u commercial way, than In any
previous year In her history. The i'm.
provsnent was apparent NIL through the
year to the mos! caaual observer. Tbs
Wheeling Wholesale meychants sent their
travellers into new territory, where the
merchants responded literally. Up and
down the river, throughout, Eastern
Ohio and Westorn Pennsylvania and
In nearly I'LL aecsiona of West Viz.
ginia new territory wan invaded by
Wheelinga victorious army Oh com.
merclRl tourists. The extension OF "sena.
Tor Davis'a Railroad" into Tucker county,
the pushing on oil the Grafton & Green.
brier road Into Randolph, tho opening Of
traffic on tho Ohio River e1tension and ita
kanawha connections, the completion oil
tho New Cumberland branch OF the
Panhandle road and the building Of the
Tunnelton & Kingwood narrow gauge
have opened up new country to commerce
and increased the demand for goods in
territory formerly worked.
A DECIDED GROWTH.
From thin extension OF territory, from
the natural growth of the country form
erly tributary to WheelinS's commercial
supremacy and from the acquisition O.
trade rightfully belonging to Wheeling
but which from force OF habit or somt
other reason has hitherto gone elsewhere
there haa been in the closing year graft
tying, permanent and healthy growth O.
Wheeling's jobbing trade in every branch
Merchants in different lines eatimato the
increase varioualy st from ten to forty psl
cent. A careful judgment would put the
sotal increase In the volsme of goodl
shipped at o5 per cent. In the volume O.
busiacbs financially stated the increase
will not prove 30 large. Goods havo beer
so!d sgainst sharper competition and or
closer margin. This fact helps to account
for tho incresse, and st the same time re-
quires 8 larger business to reap the samt
profit. -
There is another gratifying and healthy
sign: collections, generally speaking. have
bsen better throughout the year. OF re-
cent years there hiss been good deal o.
complaint among the local iobbers OF the
tightness of money end the difficulty o.
making collections. The-West Vireinif
lava have been much complained Of as
tavoriug o dishonest debtor and placing
the, creditor at the mercy Of irresponsible
or designing men,. such complaints have
been notably few In 1887. Failurcs in the
fold where Wheeling's business ID mostly
centred have been plessingly rare. Buy.
era have met their obligations Tor the
most part promptly and cheerfully, and
the toae OF the business world of which
Wheeling ia the axis has been hsal.hy
and satiriactory.
THE RAILROAD END. = g
To sum up the view oil the years. bust.
ness Of which glsnce is given above,
Wheeling iobbers enjoyed boom. The,
benefits were widely di1fused and far
reaching; everybody felt it more or lees.
One of the largest shares in it was enjoyed
by the railroads. The traffic from and
TO Whooling in 1887 was never equslled
IN any former year. Usually there is a
,ush Of freight business in the upring and
another in the fall, with spurt about the
holidays. From the New Years activity
Of still tho usual season of the spring
trade, there Tlg go diminutlon OF the vol.
une Of business. The gprinc trade was
percept!ble earlier than usual in a still
greater increase OF business, and the in
crease continued eteadily sill through tho
ordinary dull season ofsummer; there WAS
another access ofshipments and recsjpts in
the fall, and until to-day there has been
perceptibls diminution OF the volume
Of freight traffic. The business done in
's7 was ct least thirty.thrse par cent in
e1ceGs of that OF $50. So great, lndsed.
Nas the demand for chipping facilities
that the accommodations the railroad
companies could furnish for them wero
not always adequate. Particularly il This
true Of the Baltimore & Ohio road, a lead.
Ing wholesale grocer ssid to an INrrLL1.
aENcER reporter yesterday that goods
shipped from hero on Saturday for
point in Belmont county Tero not deliv.
cred nj their destination until the follow
ing Tuesday. The rosd's ability to han
die freight. Tss oyertaxed. This was not an
exceptional instance; the complaint 10
general. 81. ftj gl 80, 81, 80
The increase Of the business 1t the
Wheeling postoffice, each month exceeding
that Of the last, Is another index to the
generality and permsnenca OF the boom.
Wheeling enjoya a solid, permanent, nat.
ural growth. .ji
GROCERIES, AND PROVISIONS,
Z Tho representative jobbers in groceries,
confectionerieu, provisions and producs
have enjoyed varying shares OF the bust
ness prosperity. Perhsp. tho fancy gro
GERS and contectionera and the produce
men have had the biggest boom. The in.
crease in volume in theoe two lines Of